I know they suspended production and laid people off. Now this?
Arctic Cat in Trouble
- Thread starter GoBigParts
- Start date
S
snoxracer40w
Member
Yeah, Textron sealing the deal for a sell-off to keep their books looking a little better.....
Apparently the ski doo factory teams have known about AC pulling out of racing for a couple months.
Bad news for the entire industry.
Bad news for the entire industry.
Not surprising..kind of hard to justify keeping a race team going when you are laying people off.
Arctic Cat hasn't really supported racing since prior to the '19-'20 season when they didn't produce a 2020 race sled. What they've done the last couple years has been minimal at best. So for them to "end" funding isn't realistically much of a change. To me it just seems like an overly dramatic post by woodies.
Most of the press has been related to snowcross, but anyone know for sure if XC and hillclimb is in the same boat?
XC is
That's good to hear - in a roundabout way, obviously. Not that I'm happy they're pulling out of racing, but if they basically backed out during the same time period they were developing a new chassis and engine, then this wouldn't necessarily mean anything. Obviously, there could be more to this. Even if they are though, I'd think Textron and their creditors would give the new chassis/engine a year or two. If the Catalyst just doesn't sell that well, then they are in trouble, but right now that seems to be where the most buzz is - 2-3 times more discussion in the Cat section about peoples' new sleds than in previous years.
I can't blame them. Even if you still think win on Sunday sell on Monday matters, they aren't going to win with an alpha skid. That's a lot of money to show up and not win.
I also don't think the majority of consumers buy based off race results. My friends couldn't name a single rmsha racer other than maybe kc711.
Maybe flatlanders care about snocross but I really dont see it mattering in the mountains
I also don't think the majority of consumers buy based off race results. My friends couldn't name a single rmsha racer other than maybe kc711.
Maybe flatlanders care about snocross but I really dont see it mattering in the mountains
Sounds like the only thing this effects is SnoX. X Country and what ever else still gets funded. No new snowx sled this year anyway and had been pulled back to a skeleton crew as far as racers.
Seems like a reasonable and past due operating cost cut from my pov
Arctic Cat has a long history of experience and innovation in their racing department. What Arctic Cat lacked was strong internal Engineering and Design. For many years Arctic business leaders failed to understand the long-term business value of superior Design and Engineering. People capable of turning racing expertise into economical and reliable mass-production. Most MBA business leaders are dumb as a box of rocks when it comes to proper design efforts. They won't pay for a good production design, and therefore they had to pay a much higher price for warranty claims, which killed their reputation with dealers and customers. Sad Story.
My first snow machine was a 1970 12 hp Panther. That was "The Year of the Cat".
My first snow machine was a 1970 12 hp Panther. That was "The Year of the Cat".
True story. Many business people think engineers are a commodity and they can just hire to "dream **** up" when they want to fund them. It's going to take someone willing to make an investment and build a team culture with a solid R&D team to get on top. Looks like they may have a great start with Catalyst but they need to stick money into marketing and support like Polaris does. Polaris can build junk that blows up at 1000 miles and people still bought it because IT'S AWESOME!
Remember all the awesome old Arctic Cat commercials? The brand has no presence now. The market conditions are tough and Textron isn't serious about AC. Bad combo.
Remember all the awesome old Arctic Cat commercials? The brand has no presence now. The market conditions are tough and Textron isn't serious about AC. Bad combo.
Cat used to have some of the best marketing, no doubt. Polaris has taken that from them - or to some degree Cat just stopped trying. Of course, the best marketing is a sled that can do the talking for you. As for people buying Polaris just because of the marketing even though it blows up right away, you should probably be careful of throwing stones until you're sure you're not in the glass house. There's plenty of "Polaris junk" running around with thousands of miles without issue, while at the same time the 858 rollout isn't going any better than Polaris's 850. I really don't think there's an argument for either Cat or Polaris on quality: you've got some questionable engineering choices either way, and a higher defect rate than I'd consider acceptable. Maybe Doo is a little better, but they have their issues too... If you have a strong preference for the way one rides, go with that (and I did feel pretty comfortable hopping on a Catalyst - not gonna lie). If that's more of a wash and you know you've got good dealer support with one particular make, you'll probably be happier going with that.
Last edited:
I never rode a snowmobile in my life lol. Decided I wanted one and another for my wife lol. I went to ski do dealership with 40k cash in my pocket. Wanted two snowmobiles and a trailer. I walked around looking and waiting for over an hour and no one ever even said hello or anything lol. I said ok I guess I’ll go to another. Went to the polaris shop , same thing happened. I was supper bummed and said oh well guess I’ll go home. Then I went to artic cat dealership and they where awsome! I had no idea artic cat sucked or polaris was good or Chris burandt or Caleb or anything I was just stoked to make new friends and I bought two snowmobiles. I still can’t ride really but here’s something that may jinx me. I’ve never had a single problem with any of my artic cat snowmobiles. Not one that wasnt crash related. My new sled works great for me. I can see growing out of one and I’ve ridden a new skidoo and a 9r and I can honestly say at my skill level my cats great. I get you guys need more but I’ve also seen alot of guys on the hill on 9rs or turbos doing less than challenging stuff . My brand new sled was 11k my 21k 11.5 so all this 20k + talk isn’t for everyone. I may pick up a polaris just cause there are a lot of holdovers for cheapish right now. If artic cat survives the corporate melee I think the 858 CAN be refined into a great sled. Allready guys online twin railing them and turbos and the works. It is odd that they just can’t learn the lessons from polaris as far as social media exposure. Jeez give the revelstoke crew custom color sleds and let them sale them for you. No brained to have Muskoka on the payroll even if he breaks them ever ride lol! Funny guy was saying what a toilet cat was cause it bigger but his clutch blew off three times last year and ruined his crankshaft. Lol
Proper production design, for any product (cars, electronics, snowmobiles, tools) comes from a competent internal engineering function, complete with electronic drawing management and test facilities. Good products are 1) designed, 2) tested, 3) redesigned, 4) test manufactured, 5) redesigned, 6) retested, and 7) final production redesigned. All of that work is done prior to marketing and the main annual manufacturing run. That's why "development" got added into R&D. So stupid defects don't get mass-produced. Stupid defects which limit performance, piss off customers, and cost millions in warranty claims.
Don't ask an MBA to understand. They are too stupid, poorly educated, and too arrogant to understand how to properly manage a business. All MBAs know how to do is "cut the budget". Unfortunately, they cut good stuff (like R&D & workforce wages), and they won't cut worthless stuff like their own salary and bonus. I enjoyed that little "bitch session". Thanks for putting up with me. All the Best!
Don't ask an MBA to understand. They are too stupid, poorly educated, and too arrogant to understand how to properly manage a business. All MBAs know how to do is "cut the budget". Unfortunately, they cut good stuff (like R&D & workforce wages), and they won't cut worthless stuff like their own salary and bonus. I enjoyed that little "bitch session". Thanks for putting up with me. All the Best!
Dang, I can't read a great rant like that without chiming in... MBA - it's what the people who can't hack a harder degree (math, physics, engineering) - but still think they're smarter - get. And somehow those types are running big companies. Then, those "smart" types who are too lazy or stupid for an MBA get a "what the heck is that" degree (like gender studies) and go work for the government.
